Author: TALI KHALILI

In his poems “The Diameter of the Bomb” and “An Arab Shepherd is Searching for his Goat on Mount Zion,” Yehuda Amichai is deliberately provocative to enlighten society on the horrific impact of war and to inspire society to believe that peace is still a viable possibility. In his poem “The Diameter of the Bomb,” Amichai begins by providing the scientific and statistical findings attached to the physical object of the bomb. Beyond this nonchalant description, however, Amichai accounts for the true and horrific impact on the lives affected by its force, such as the “young woman/ who was buried in the city she came from” and the “solitary man mourning her death/…at a distance of more than a hundred kilometers” away (“The Diameter of the Bomb”). In revealing the extensive impact of the bomb, Amichai utilizes the symbol of the enlarging circle to suggest that the entire world will at one point be consumed until it “reaches up to the throne of God” (“The Diameter of the Bomb”). Though Amichai questions the existence of God for allowing such violence to exist in his poem “The Diameter of the Bomb,” he discusses the possibility of finding peace in his other poem “An Arab Shepherd is Searching for his Goat on Mount Zion.” In this poem, Amichai describes an Arab Shepherd and a Jewish father who undoubtedly have many contrasts between them; however, they are “both in their temporary failure” in the midst of war, as they share the desire to save what they love most (“An Arab Shepherd is Searching for his Goat on Mount Zion”). When the Arab and the Jew come together in their search of saving what they love most as opposed to destroying it, Amicha believes that the futility of war could be overcome.   

In his poems, Claude McKay addresses the difficulty that African Americans experience in their adjustment to the demeaning urban environment of America. In “Harlem Shadows,” McKay writes on the innocent “little dark girls” who have resorted to prostitution as a means of survival. McKay presents the sad situation of “the sacred brown feet” to suggest that the oppression and belittlement of his race has led to its downfall. Even in his poem “Subway Winds,” McKay contrasts the artificial world of urban life to the purity of his homeland to suggest that there is some deceiving quality to New York’s impression. The “sick and heavy air” of the Subways reminds McKay of the breeze from “palm trees blooming.” In drawing this connection to his homeland, McKay characterizes New York as a trap, for it captivates people with the hope for a better future, but instead, only spurs a memory and longing to return home. 

In the end of Edith Wharton’s short story “The Muse’s Tragedy,” Mary Anerton confesses in a letter the true nature of her relationship with Rendle to justify why she cannot accept Danyers’ marriage proposal. In her letter, Mary Anerton corrects both Danyers’ false perception of her as well as the public image that society has painted for her by revealing that her love for Rendle was unreciprocated. Mary Anerton refuses to further her relationship with Danyers because she never was Silvia, the object of the famous poet’s love. The letter written by Mary Anerton explains her desire to be loved not for her image as Rendle’s muse, but for her true human self.  Danyers was unwilling to adjust his blind admiration for Mary Anerton despite the validity of Mrs. Memorall’s “rude fingering[s] of his idol.” And although Mary Anerton eventually realized that Danyers “really cared” for her and not “only because [she was Silvia or]…because [he] thought Rendle had loved [her],” she decided she was not prepared to replace Rendle’s place in her life for she “never had what [she wanted, and never, never, never [would she] stoop to wanting anything else.”

 In setting the short story “The Gilded Six-Bits” in the South, Zora Neale Hurston is able to clearly communicate the unjust social and economic systems in place to marginalize and oppress the African American community, specifically its women. In selecting Missie May to commit the act of adultery, Hurston empowers the African-American women and rejects the traditional mindset of male dominance in the household. Additionally, Hurston addresses the dangerous temptation of greed and the deceptive quality of appearances. In the opening of her short story,  Hurston meticulously describes the intimate and welcoming African-American community as “happy…[with] a mess of homey flowers planted without a plan but blooming cheerily” to reinforce that the characters were able to live contently, despite being limited in the comforts of materialism. Once Joe and Missie May started to yearn for something beyond their already happy and comfortable lives, their relationship started to fracture. Yet, their love and dependency upon one another ultimately saved Joe and Missie May from falling victim to the notion that money was their gateway to a better life. 

In the short story “The Dead,”  James Joyce attempts to redefine the notion of living by representing death as not simply the physical removal of a being from the world, but as a metaphorical death. The character Gabriel is portrayed as living in denial of the past and following a ritualistic lifestyle. In the speech that Gabriel delivers to the guests of the dinner party, he chooses to “not linger on the past…[so as to not] let any gloomy moralising intrude upon [them when]… gathered together for a brief moment from the bustle and rush of…everyday routine.” By focusing solely on life during the present and refusing to acknowledge the connection between the past and present, Gabriel is essentially dead. When Gretta reveals her unbroken attachment to her dead lover Michael Furey, Gabriel finally came to the realization that it is impossible to deny the past. Through Gretta’s confession of her undying love for Michael, Joyce communicates to the reader that the purpose of living is to prioritize our relationships and create memories through our experiences. Since Michael was able to continue to impact the living beyond his physical death, he was essentially more alive than Gabriel.

Emily Dickenson’s poem exemplified the individualistic and innovative style of the Romanticism era through her unconventional use of dashes. Dickenson utilizes the pause associated with the dash to encourage the audience to think slightly deeper about the moment just before an individual is approached by death. The abundance of dashes also serves an ironic purpose throughout the poem. Typically, when considering the crossroad of death, humans are known to show feelings of reluctance or a desire for just a second of pause. However, the reality is that once one approaches “that odd fork in Being’s road,” these dashes are nonexistent, since the only option in this case is to venture towards the “God at every gate.”